ATTITUDE IS A LITTLE THING THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE. ~ Winston Churchill

Saturday, June 4, 2011

We All Make A Difference

All babies are special. At birth, they seem to posses a hard to define sense of purpose. Having spent a lot of time in the NICU when Winston was born, I felt this sense of purpose even stronger with the babies being cared for there. It also seemed that a feeling of quiet strength emanated from these brave little ones - but that could have been my own wish to bless them with the strength they needed.

Not long ago I heard the following from another parent who'd also had a baby in the NICU and thought it really captures what I was feeling back when Winston was there. Her NICU nurse told her, "A child who is born with a less than perfect physical body is given a huge spirit and is meant to make a difference in the lives of all those around them."

How true this is! We all have a purpose and a reason for being here. Some have a short turn on Earth and some have a long turn but each person makes a difference no matter how long they're here.

Here's another quote I really liked shared by one of the pediatric surgeons:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. Life is to be experienced to the fullest with the goal to power slide across the finish line sideways, throttle wide open, tires spinning and kicking up dirt, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!""

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong because at some point in your life, you will have been all of these."

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson